People with disabilities are the most populous underrepresented group on the planet. It is the only group that we all will either be a part of or impacted by if we live long enough.
Some make the mistake of thinking of people with a disability as broken. And if we appear to have a disability, some judge us as somehow less than human. Still, others rank us on some societal pity scale based on the individual’s perception of themselves with that disability. Just because you couldn’t imagine, using a wheelchair, or being blind doesn’t mean that you should consider people living with limited sight or wheelchair use, pitiful.
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If a young, beautiful woman is now a young, beautiful paraplegic woman, doesn’t mean she should avoid bars or wild vacations. She is a person enjoying her youth.
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If an elderly man is crossing the street very slowly using a cane or walker, doesn’t mean he should avoid being out alone. Nor does it mean that he has a family who neglects him! He is a person out enjoying his independence!
Why limit these people by what you think is safe or best for them or by what you think YOU would do. After all, you really DON’T know WHAT you would do if it were you!
We don’t want pity. We are people who want to be happy, loved, treated equally and fairly. We don’t want to be the subject of an Inclusion Program, we want to be Included.
We are whole and complete human beings living full lives. We are contributing members of society. We are all in one piece even if we are missing limbs or chromosomes, blood or brain cells, have damaged vertebrae or nerves etc. Aspects of our bodies or minds may be different, but we are still people.
We will not be sent to the land of the misfit toys!
We are brave! We are beautiful! We are determined! We are CreativelyAble! We don’t care about being liked, but we insist upon being respected!
A broken crayon colors just as vividly as one that is unbroken. And it is still a crayon!
Love, Light, and Equality
Cr8Ab
CreativelyAble 
Hi, I’m writing an article for an online magazine Disability Horizons about disability-related words/phrases. I would love to include the phrase “Creativelyable”! Are you happy for me to include it, mention about you and your blog? I just need to know how you came up with it, your full name, where you live and how long you’ve been blogging? Many thanks, Emma 🙂
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Hey Emma, of course you may use it. I came up with it because I have had to be creative in the way I shop (like adding a makeshift cart to the back of my scooter), get jobs done around the house [like adding extenders and such to pick fruit from my tree or clean my windows), I’ve had to create ways to be team mom for my sone when he was young (I had to bring snacks for the team and cut oranges etc even though my disability is in my hands, and so much more. That’s why I say I am “creative” versus “dis” abled. My name is Larree Carnes, I live in Los Angeles and I’ve been blogging for just a few months. I am more than happy to spread the word about us and what we bring versus what people think we lack! Larree
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